Full Text of HJR0109 098th General Assembly
HJ0109 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly takes pride in | 3 | | recognizing the accomplishments and
contributions of State | 4 | | officials and citizens; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, In recognition of the lasting legacy and many | 6 | | sacrifices that Alan J. Dixon made for the
citizenry of the | 7 | | State, the General Assembly wishes to bestow upon him the rare
| 8 | | distinction of naming a public building in his honor; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon spent his life serving the people of | 10 | | the State and was
known for his work ethic and ability to | 11 | | foster cooperation and compromise across party lines; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was born in Belleville on July 7, | 13 | | 1927; he graduated from Belleville
Township High School, earned | 14 | | his bachelor's degree in 1949 from the University of Illinois | 15 | | at
Urbana-Champaign, and earned his Juris Doctor from | 16 | | Washington University School of Law in
St. Louis, Missouri; he | 17 | | served in the United States Navy Air Corps during World War II | 18 | | and
began his 43-year political career in law school when he | 19 | | was elected to serve as Belleville
Police Magistrate; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, At the age of 22, Alan J. Dixon was elected one of | 21 | | the youngest legislators ever to
serve in the Illinois House of |
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| 1 | | Representatives, and served as a State Representative from
1951 | 2 | | to 1963; he was an advocate for higher education and | 3 | | co-sponsored legislation that
produced Illinois's community | 4 | | college system; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon served in the Illinois State Senate | 6 | | from 1963 to 1971, rising to
Assistant Democratic Leader; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was elected to serve as Illinois | 8 | | Treasurer from 1971 to 1977; from
1977 to 1981, he served as | 9 | | Illinois Secretary of State, an office he won by a margin
of | 10 | | 1,300,000 votes; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, In 1980, Alan J. Dixon won his first election to | 12 | | the United States Senate by more
than 600,000 votes; he won his | 13 | | re-election to the United States Senate in 1986 by more than
| 14 | | 950,000 votes; he served until 1993; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In 1988, and again in 1990, Alan J. Dixon was | 16 | | unanimously selected by his party
colleagues to serve as the | 17 | | Chief Deputy Whip of the United States Senate, the number 3
| 18 | | leadership post; he enjoyed an unbroken string of 29 election | 19 | | victories; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, At the request of President Bill Clinton, Alan J. | 21 | | Dixon served as Chairman of the
Defense Base Closure and |
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| 1 | | Realignment Commission in 1994 and 1995, a job that called for | 2 | | both
national defense knowledge and good political ties with | 3 | | both Democrats and Republicans; as former Chairman of the | 4 | | Senate Armed Services Subcommittee he was mutually respected by | 5 | | both parties; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was a partner with the St. Louis, | 7 | | Missouri based law firm, Bryan
Cave, LLP, where he served | 8 | | corporate and government clients; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Lindenwood University-Belleville, formerly the | 10 | | Belleville Township High School,
named its student center after | 11 | | Alan J. Dixon in 2011 in his honor and thanked him for his
| 12 | | achievements and efforts on behalf of his hometown of | 13 | | Belleville; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon's memoir, "The Gentleman from | 15 | | Illinois: Stories from Forty Years of
Elective Public Service", | 16 | | was published in 2013 by Southern Illinois University Press; | 17 | | and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon died in his home on July 6, 2014, | 19 | | one day shy of his 87th birthday; he is survived by his spouse | 20 | | of 60 years, Joan "Jody" Fox Dixon; 3 children, Stephanie,
| 21 | | Jeffrey, and Elizabeth; 8 grandchildren; and 7 | 22 | | great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 3 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the State of | 4 | | Illinois building that houses the Illinois State Museum at 502 | 5 | | South Spring Street in Springfield as the "Alan J. Dixon | 6 | | Building"; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to Alan J.
Dixon's surviving spouse, Joan "Jody" Fox | 9 | | Dixon and to the Department of Natural Resources.
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